History Trivia / ThePinkPanther

* FunnyCharacterBoringActor: PeterSellers.

* HeyItsThatVoice: George Sanders, the voice of [[Disney/TheJungleBook Shere Khan]], plays Ballon in ''Shot''.

** Also Clouseau's line 'a rit of fealous jage' was supposedly a slip-up (there is an outtake where Sellers and GeorgeSanders both crack up at it) which was later re-filmed as part of the script.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Creator/PeterSellers died during planning of the unmade ''Romance of the Pink Panther''. Initially there were plans to film it anyway as a Dudley Moore vehicle, but he wanted Blake Edwards to direct it, and he didn't like that script; Moore moved on while Edwards made ''Trail'' and ''Curse'' instead.

** Sophia Loren and Walter Matthau were considered for ''Shot'' (Matthau had appeared in the stage play the film became an InNameOnly adaptation of) but were replaced when Blake Edwards stepped in.
** The ''Revenge'' shoot in Hong Kong was almost derailed by monsoon season; the threat of the rain keeping up had Blake Edwards having his assistants check up on Rio de Janeiro as an alternative location.
** The Le Club Phut sequence in ''Revenge'' originally had Clouseau and Cato masquerading as ''black'' clubgoers, [[FunnyAfro funny Afros and all]]. However, Creator/PeterSellers and Blake Edwards's increasingly strained working relationship got in the way and they warred over how they would pull it off; ultimately the sequence had to be scrapped and substituted with the simpler sequence of the two trying to spy on the club from outside.

** Blake Edwards wanted to cast Rowan Atkinson as Clifton Sleigh in ''Curse'', but United Artists (an American studio) didn't think he was enough of a "name". He [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_the_Pink_Panther#Production later considered]] casting Atkinson as Clouseau, Jr. in ''Son''; other potential leads included Tim Curry, Creator/GerardDepardieu, and Kevin Kline (who eventually played Dreyfus in the 2006 reboot).

* StarMakingRole: Peter Sellers was already a huge star in the United Kingdom thanks to ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' and a list of TV and film credits that was already in the double digits, and had made inroads in North America with ''TheMouseThatRoared'' and his work with StanleyKubrick, but Inspector Clouseau was the role that made him an international success.

* MissingEpisode: Sort of - MGM/UA doesn't own the rights to ''Return'' (currently, Universal/Focus Features does) so while all are available on DVD, there's never been a proper box set of the five "true" Sellers films. MGM is also not allowed to mention ''Return'' in any published material.

** Blake Edwards wanted to cast Rowan Atkinson as Clifton Sleigh in ''Curse'', but United Artists (an American studio) didn't think he was enough of a "name". He [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_the_Pink_Panther#Production later considered]] casting Atkinson as Clouseau, Jr. in ''Son''; other potential leads included Tim Curry, Gerard Depardieu, and Kevin Kline (who eventually played Dreyfus in the 2006 reboot).

*** And DanCastellaneta, aka [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], as Voodoo Man and others.

* MissingEpisode: Sort of - MGM/UA doesn't own the rights to ''Return'' (currently, Universal/Focus Features does) so while all are available on DVD, there's never been a proper box set of the 5 "true" Sellers films. MGM is also not allowed to mention ''Return'' in any published material.

* OldShame: Alan Arkin, not surprisingly, considers making ''Inspector Clouseau'' a mistake. He has rarely spoken much about the film in the years since, but one time Arkin did explain why he took up the role. In the late-60s he was becoming a fairly well-known actor and thought that as a movie actor, he could do whatever role was offered to him, and he could do it easily. He admits that the failure of ''Inspector Clouseau'' [[BreakTheHaughty knocked him off his high horse.]]

* StarMakingRole: Peter Sellers was already a huge star in the U.K. thanks to ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' and a list of TV and film credits that was already in the double digits, and had made inroads in North America with ''TheMouseThatRoared'' and his work with StanleyKubrick, but Inspector Clouseau was the role that made him an international success.

** Also Clouseau's line 'a rit of fealous jage' was supposedly a slip up (there is an outtake where Sellers and GeorgeSanders both crack up at it) which was later re-filmed as part of the script.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Available only via dodgy torrent sites [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil in Eastern Europe]], and Kamuz TV's Argentinian-Spanish copies, but '''no official DVD release of all 3 series exists''' (for this 1993 one). You could get a DVD at one point, but it was '''only''' of Series 1, the 1993 series.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: PeterSellers died during planning of the unmade "Romance of the Pink Panther". As a result, the project was scrapped, though Blake Edwards would make "Trail" two years later.

* MoneyDearBoy: Partial motivation for Sellers being willing to reprise the role of Clouseau in the 1970s. (The other was getting enough clout to get ''BeingThere'' [[DoingItForTheArt greenlit]].)

** The Le Club Foot sequence in ''Revenge'' originally had Clouseau and Cato masquerading as ''black'' clubgoers, [[FunnyAfro funny Afros and all]]. However, PeterSellers and Blake Edwards's increasingly strained working relationship got in the way and they warred over how they would pull it off; ultimately the sequence had to be scrapped and substituted with the simpler sequence of the two trying to spy on the club from outside.

* StarMakingRole: Peter Sellers.

** For the original films: [[DrStrangelove Doctor Strangelove]], [[BeingThere Chance the gardener]], [[TheParty Hrundi]] as Inspector Clouseau.

* MissingEpisode: Sort of - MGM/UA doesn't own the rights to ''Return'' (currently, Universal/Focus Features does) so while all are available on DVD, there's never been a proper box set of the 5 films many fans consider canon.
** MGM is also not allowed to mention "Return" in any published material, either.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:

** Sophia Loren and Walter Matthau were considered for ''Shot'' but were replaced when Blake Edwards stepped in.

** With regards to the reboot, potential Clouseaus included Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, and Mike Myers. Myers was the most sought-after, but his asking fee was too high.
** The 2006 reboot originally had a stylized title sequence where the panther was animated with CGI. It was dropped and was replaced with a traditionally animated opening with the panther and Clouseau.

** Apparently [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]]/[[DieHardWithAVengeance Simon Gruber]] has taken an interest in fencing and became an instructor in France who trained The Tornado serial thief.

** Herbert Lom (Commissioner Dreyfus) and Graham Stark (several roles) are also British. Sellers and Lom already co-acted together in "The Ladykillers"

* BeamMeUpScotty[=/=]SpellMyNameWithAThe: In the 1990s' animated series, he is not Pink Panther, but ''The Pink Panther''. Emphasis on ''The'' at beginning.

** The Ant and the Aardvark, who appeared in supporting cartoons and bumpers on the 1970 ''Pink Panther'', were voiced by comedian John Byner. The voices of the Ant and Aardvark [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed closely resembled]] those of DeanMartin and Jackie Mason, respectively.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Only available via dodgy torrent sites [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil in Eastern Europe]], and Kamuz TV's Argentinian-Spanish copies, but '''no official DVD release of all 3 series exists''' (for this 1993 one). You could get a DVD at one point, but it was '''only''' of Series 1, the 1993 series.

** The complete first season is Available on Amazon.de
* TalkingToHimself: The Ant and Aardvark, both voiced by John Byner.

!![[ThePinkPanther The films]]

** Apparently [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]]/[[DieHard Simon Gruber]] has taken an interest in fencing and became an instructor in France who trained The Tornado serial thief.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: PeterSellers died during planning of the unmade "Romance of the Pink Panther". As a result, the project was scrapped, though Edwards would make "Trail" two years later.

** In fact, many characters had this as well:
** Italian Maria Gambrelli in "Shot" was played by German Elke Sommer.
** Neither Herbert Lom (Dreyfus) nor Graham Stark (Hercule LaJoy in "Shot" , Auguste Balls in "Revenge" and a German Motel Owner in "Strikes Again") were French.

** Apparently [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]] has taken an interest in fencing and became an instructor in France who trained The Tornado serial thief.

** Italian Maria Gambrelli in "Shot" was played by Dutch Elke Sommer.

* ThrowItIn: Occasionally; for instance, the "synchronized watches" bit in ''Shot'' was largely improvised by the actors.

* HeyItsThatVoice: The 1993 animated version has the main character voiced by MaxHeadroom.
** And DanCastellaneta, aka [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] as Voodoo Man and others.
** Wallace Shawn as the Little Man.